Data Distrust Forces Drastic Decisions

This is a dark age when it comes to distrust of consumers and enterprises around Internet data collection. So dark, in fact, that one organization has turned to creating a nonprofit organization to keep tabs on itself and prove its trustworthiness.

“You shouldn’t trust Mezzobit out of the box,” Mezzobit CEO and co-founder Joseph Galarneau told me this week. “A lot of folks project the ‘you should trust us’ message, but there is a lack of validation.” He cited the Google WiFi password collection furor, which resulted in Google pledging to change its ways. “Great, but how do we know you are?”

Consumers were already growing distrustful of data collection when the NSA came along and compounded issues. Some progress has been made in the UK with cookie consent laws, but in the US, people are opting out more — just deciding not to get involved digitally. Galarneau’s concern is that this forms a threat to the digital economy.